The present Patent of Invention application consists, as its title indicates, of a xe2x80x9cAN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR MOUNTING DEVICE FOR VEHICLESxe2x80x9d, whose new characteristics of construction, shape and design fulfil the function for which it has specifically been designed, with maximum safety and effectiveness, and which provides many advantages, as described in the present specification.
In the field of connections for the different electrical devices, for example, of a car, mounting the connectors which form part of the electrical system of a vehicle in a connector box fixed to the chassis of the same is known.
The connectors are mounted one by one in the connector box and then the box is fixed to the vehicle""s chassis. The main drawback arising from the use of said system of mounting the electrical connectors in vehicles is that the installation space of the connector box is usually small. Apart from the little space available, the operator who has to install the connector box finds that handling the same is complicated as the great number of connectors makes mounting and fixing of the same enormously difficult.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,787, xe2x80x9cConnector Assembly with Connector Housing Retaining Structurexe2x80x9d, applied for by Shinji Kodama, describes a connector housing attached to an electrical instrument, and a second connector housing disposed on a part of a panel wall, being both connector housings connected together by screw joining means. When the connectors connect together, the second connector housing can part from the panel wall toward the first connector housing and when the connectors separate from each other, the second connector housing can be provisionally retained on the panel wall by the provisionally retaining means.
The present device modifies the previous state of the art mentioned above and includes, among other elements, means for detecting the coupling of each connector in the connector box, which allows the operator to be notified that the connectors are connected in the box, or to determine whether there is any connector which has not been correctly coupled in the connector box
The mounting device of the invention consists in a support which is adequately fixed to the vehicle""s chassis and to which said connector box is coupled. This support is provided with cavities inside, which coincide with the cavities of the connector box, which are made for placing said electrical connectors. Prior placing of the connectors in these cavities of said support allows them to be conveniently distributed in correspondence with the cavities of the connector box.
Moreover, the connector box is advantageously provided with coupling means of the connectors in the connector box which allow these connectors to be extracted from the cavities of the support when the connector box is coupled to the support.
It should be emphasised that the arrangement of this support fixed to the vehicle is advantageous for the objects of the invention since, when the connector box is installed in the vehicle, the connectors have previously been adequately placed and distributed in the support ready for connection. The arrangement of the connectors in the support is easy, since they are arranged on top of the support. Therefore, mounting is very simple and enables costs to be reduced with respect to other known types of mounting for connectors.
In accordance with the invention, said coupling means of the connectors in the connector box consist of at least one screw provided in the connector box, which can be introduced by threading into an orifice of the connector. Turning said screw, extracts the connector from the cavity of the support and couples it with the connector box.
Once the support is fixed, the connector box is arranged on the same and said screws are turned, which forces the connectors to couple in the corresponding cavity of the connector box. Thus, it may be observed that installation of the box is very simple, since it is not necessary to handle it because the connectors are already correctly placed in their definitive mounting positions ready for connection.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the device also includes means for detecting the coupling of each connector in the connector box, which allows the operator to be notified that the connectors are connected in the box, or to determine whether there is any connector which has not been correctly coupled in the connector box. Said means for detecting the coupling of each connector in the connector box consist of a casing mounted around the outside of the screw of the coupling means described above. This casing can slide axially with respect to said screw in such a way that, when the screw is introduced into the orifice of the connector, said casing is forced to slide upwards in such a way that its upper end projects from the connector box, indicating to the operator that the connector has been coupled.
Preferably, the cavities of the support are provided with an upper rim which projects towards the inside of the cavity, which serves to prevent vertical movement of the connector when the box is not coupled in the support. This rim has a surface which is inclined outwards which serves to facilitate introduction of the connector. Moreover, each connector is provided with side tongues whose ends are arrow-shaped which couple under the upper rim of each cavity of the support. Said tongues consist of a rib inclined inwards which makes the tongue bend inwards when the inner wall of the cavity of the connector box makes contact with the rib. This allows the connector to be extracted from the cavity of the support and coupled to the connector box, as described above.